Have I done the right thing?

I just knocked back a job offer with a large oil & gas company in Al Khobar Saudi Arabia. Job was the next step up the ladder from what I do here and there would have been more responsibility and the job might have had a bit more variety and challenges than my current position. The salary was pretty good as well - £80k tax free with accomodation and transport provided as well as a per diem to cover incidental expenses.

However here are the downsides; it was single status, I would have been working 6 days per week and the the rotation cycle was 90/12

My wife thinks I've done the right thing and so do I however I hope that in 6 months I don't regret not taking the opportunity

Don't work your arse off, esp. if you have kids/family - work out the hourly rate, then think about the crap bits, about being in hotel, prob. no bike and stuff.

Unless there is a big pay advantage, and your family are 'really' happy with it, then drop it.... I wouldn't..........., but if there is a big amount you would have tax free for it, then think about it.

My father-in-law went to Saudi to work and ended up staying 25 years. He took the whole family, but the kids eventually had to come back to the UK to go to boarding school (which they hated) and it ended up with just him and his wife there with their kids and grandkids in the UK. He only went as a stop gap but think he got trapped by the tax free salary. If you were going to do it then I would have suggested to give yourself a fixed period of time, take the cash, build up a nest egg and then come back to the UK. However, I think you have made the right decision.

I think you did the right thing. The deal does not sound all that generous to me. If you are in a position to negotiate then you could ask for a better deal on rotations or get family status. I would be looking for something like three weeks on, one week off. I have found companies in Europe pretty flexible with regard to rotations. If they are desperate enough, they will negotiate.

Otherwise why not try for a job in one of the other Gulf states? Oman is very pleasant, in winter at least.

IMO money can buy alot of nice things, but it can't buy you happiness, peace of mind and a bunch of reliable friends. Suppose it depends what you want from life. I'm happy being skint and having good loyal friends, enjoying simple pleasures like cycling and being content with what I've got.

My dad worked in Saudi for a while. First two years the whole family were out there but when my sister and I got too old for the local ex-pat school we came home with Mum. Dad stayed, because the money was good, but it was very hard for Mum (and Dad too, but he didn't have two kids to look after).

The 'glory days' of working in the Middle East are long gone! I first went to Saudi in 1979 as nurse/clinic manager - my pay in the NHS was £164/month and that was for nights. My contract in Saudi was £750/month with a 15% completion bonus. Three months on/one month off with airfare paid. My last job offer - head of A&E in a major facility in Dhahran was in 1996, my reply to the salary offered was "How much? If you double it and double it again, I will think about it!"
I think arranandy has given a hint about the company concerned and if it is the one that I am thinking about married status and contract negotiation for Brits is almost impossible.
Do you have any children?
Pros - money, experience
Cons - separation from family (I don't think my ex and I ever worked out which was harder - me being out there alone or her and the kids being alone).
As Hugo15 pointed out - sand fever! "Just one more contract". "Just another 12 months" and before you know it, you are a granddad and still there!
You can view the 6 day week as a good thing - takes your mind off home and I mean that in a good way!
There's no need to give up cycling - just take bib tights out there!

dormouse - you are right Oman is pleasant in the winter but don't forget about the winter floods!

My father-in-law went to Saudi to work and ended up staying 25 years. He took the whole family, but the kids eventually had to come back to the UK to go to boarding school (which they hated) and it ended up with just him and his wife there with their kids and grandkids in the UK. He only went as a stop gap but think he got trapped by the tax free salary.

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That's exactly what my dad's done. Him and my mum spend around half the year together and the rest of the time he behaves like a teenager. I think they both rather like it, and all us kids get a holiday in Bahrain every year.

If your home life is good and you really enjoy being with your wife then you have made the right call. Money is not everything.
I was an ex-pat for 2 years the job came offer came from nowhere we were in a very bad state relationship wise I took the job in part that if we split I was away and out of it would maybe not hurt so much.
The Job was fabulous I had an absolutely fantastic lifestyle and was saving some cash for the first time in my life. Once things stabilised with my missus it became very tough cost a fortune in phonecalls and ultimately I put my notice in and came home.
Never regretted it skint these days but have a fantastic relationship with my missus.
Was out of work at beginning of this year and we looked at me going abroad to earn some dough had a job in Suriname pretty much in the bag when a job came up a 100 miles way which I took, which meant being away from home 5 days a week until we relocated. Both found it really tough and were so glad I hadn't took another contract abroad.

The gas industry in Qatar is blooming, and although I've no personal experience, the contacts I have made out there seem able to balance the work/family thing quite well. It's always different looking on from outside however...